Motor Trend: 11 most reliable brands. Jeep just makes the cut, beating Honda.

[Viper501]

CR has historically had a very hard left lean that gets offended by people drinking a different color koolaid

Sponsored

 

[Shibbyjeep]

https://www.motortrend.com/features/most-reliable-dependable-car-brands/

TL;DR:

1. Lexus
2. Toyota
3. Buick
4. Chevrolet
5. Mini
6. Porsche
7. Mazda
8. Kia
9. BMW
10. Dodge
11. Jeep

I wonder how much Jeep paid to just make the cut in a top 11. Who does a top 11? Its normal to do top 10, not 11 so that is def sus.

 

[Sweetums]

CR has historically had a very hard left lean that gets offended by people drinking a different color koolaid

It's not so much about left or right as it is looking at cars the same way they look at a toaster or a clothes iron. If you just go off analytics everyone would be driving a Prius or a Corolla, CR fundamentally doesn't understand that people have an emotional connection to their vehicles and not everyone wants the equivalent of a Whirlpool dishwasher with seats and a steering wheel.

I wonder how much Jeep paid to just make the cut in a top 11. Who does a top 11? Its normal to do top 10, not 11 so that is def sus.

It's because 9, 10, and 11 all had the same score, so it's really a 3-way tie.

 

[Badunit]

I gave up on CR because they dislike trucks for riding like trucks. Plus I recall that they count extremely minor problems and extremely major problems as if they are the same severity. A vehicle with two reports of a bad spark plug is less reliable than a vehicle with one report of a blown engine. Not so in my book.

 

[Badunit]

Who does a top 11? Its normal to do top 10, not 11 so that is def sus.

Spinal Tap?

 

[JTsGarage]

I gave up on CR because they dislike trucks for riding like trucks. Plus I recall that they count extremely minor problems and extremely major problems as if they are the same severity. A vehicle with two reports of a bad spark plug is less reliable than a vehicle with one report of a blown engine. Not so in my book.

CR also includes things like user experience with infotainment systems in its "reliability" surveys. I think most of us think of reliability as a vehicle that gets me from point A to point B day in and day out with minimal interruption and repairs. The infotainment is the main reason Volvo ranks lowly on CR, for instance. My wife drives an XC90 - terrific vehicle - but yes, the infotainment takes some getting used to. Silly to include that in a reliability survey though.

 

[Wheelin98TJ]

All this CR talk in a thread about a JD Power study. ?

What I find amusing about this JD Power study that produced the list is they only had a total of 30,595 surveys. There are 30 vehicle manufacturers on their list. So an average of about 1,000 surveys/manufacturer. They probably got more surveys for Jeep and Ford vs Volvo and Land Rover, but I think it's pretty easy to realize they took a very small sample to produce the list.

 

[Sweetums]

An N of 1,000 is typically enough to have a decent P-value in statistical analysis.

CR also includes things like user experience with infotainment systems in its "reliability" surveys. I think most of us think of reliability as a vehicle that gets me from point A to point B day in and day out with minimal interruption and repairs. The infotainment is the main reason Volvo ranks lowly on CR, for instance. My wife drives an XC90 - terrific vehicle - but yes, the infotainment takes some getting used to. Silly to include that in a reliability survey though.

JD Power does that too, it looks at any return to the dealership as a ding against "initial quality". Ford got wise about it and started offering Infotainment classes at their dealership when you bought a new car to help get their numbers down; too many people were coming back just to have someone explain how to use the touchscreen instead of reading the manual or looking at Ford's videos on Youtube.

 

[Raven65]

Lexus is the luxury Toyota brand......... so it would be weird if one wasn't close to the other.
Dodge/Jeep same family, sharing a lot of the same engineering, engines and so on with some differences, so that makes sense they are close to each other.

Where's Ford?
Subaru?

Interesting to note is that 11, 10 and 9 all received a 190 score - so in effect, pretty much tied? You had to get to #8 to get a better score - which was 187 for #8

In the toilet is where Ford is! They've been having tons of quality issues and recalls for the past few years... and their CEO, Jim Farley, has admitted it publicly and said that it will take years to correct. No way in hell I'd buy a Ford anytime soon (and I'm not a hater... having owned several Fords in the past).

Subarus are well known to have spotty quality. Have for a long time. No surprise there.

I'm very surprised to see that Jeep made the list given how many issues people complain about on here and in other forums/groups. I know you see a disproportionate amount of complaints on any forum like this, but I've been in many different forums over the last 23-30 years or so (going back to the dial-up BBS days) and I see way more on here than I have anywhere else. I suspect that if J.D. Power had only considered JLs/JTs, Jeep wouldn't have made the list. Then again, that study only takes into account the issues that are reported. Most of the issues discussed on here are inexplicably excused as being "just a Jeep thing" and dismissed - even given how expensive these things have become - so a lot of them probably weren't reported. I've had good luck with mine so far, but they won't get a pass from me if issues arise.

 

[Sweetums]

In the toilet is where Ford is! They've been having tons of quality issues and recalls for the past few years... and their CEO, Chris Farley, has admitted it publicly and said that it will take years to correct. No way in hell I'd buy a Ford anytime soon (and I'm not a hater... having owned several Fords in the past).

When you see a Bronco owner, tell him he dropped this:

 

[Zachanadandy]

While using many of the same parts, the assembly lines/factories are not always shared, but I think the biggest delta would be from the customer base.

People buying a Lexus, BMW, or Porsche are spending more money for a premium product and are more likely to complain when experiencing an issue. The fact that those are scoring higher in a self reported user metric is encouraging, in my opinion, for those brands.

Subaru recent quality is garbage. Having ditched a 2023 WRX (purchased brand new) this year for my 2023 Gladiator (also purchased new) I have been overall much happier with Jeep. I had to wait for the clutch recall and then the steering wheel was crooked… but my expectations were admittedly lower entering the Jeep family (whether justified or not). My WRX rattled more than a macarena inserted into the backside of a twerking Cardi B. I had it in the shop enough I eventually went through every model in loaner form and the build quality on all of them is absolutely atrocious. Misaligned trim, rattles, and infotainment issues abound….

Jeep is using a mostly perfected engine with an excellent transmission (in the auto, I find my manual to be “bleh”) on a body design that hasn’t changed much since WWII. I would hope they would be on lists like this. ?‍

Clearly you've never seen an old willys in real life. Body hasn't changed much? That's gotta be a joke. The tj was tiny and stripped by comparison. Then there's the fact that the Wrangler isn't the entire brand lineup and a modern grand cherokee or wagoneer will easily compete with a Lexus for luxury and have about as much in common with an old willys as a horse carriage (the willys probably has more.in common with the wagon than it does the wagoneer).

 

[Marmaduke]

Clearly you've never seen an old willys in real life. Body hasn't changed much? That's gotta be a joke. The tj was tiny and stripped by comparison. Then there's the fact that the Wrangler isn't the entire brand lineup and a modern grand cherokee or wagoneer will easily compete with a Lexus for luxury and have about as much in common with an old willys as a horse carriage (the willys probably has more.in common with the wagon than it does the wagoneer).

LOL. Most people look at Jeep the same way they look at Porsches and will not be able to tell a discernible difference. Compare the original Willy and today’s front end to an F150 of the same era to today (or an old blazer or even bronco) and you won’t see a difference at all. Obviously there have been design and material improvements over time, but the “wrangler” look has remained a classic.

Sure throw in the new Cherokee and wagoneer, etc it’s an entirely different story, but I don’t think anyone else confused my point.

Some people just like to argue though… ?

 

[Zachanadandy]

LOL. Most people look at Jeep the same way they look at Porsches and will not be able to tell a discernible difference. Compare the original Willy and today’s front end to an F150 of the same era to today (or an old blazer or even bronco) and you won’t see a difference at all. Obviously there have been design and material improvements over time, but the “wrangler” look has remained a classic.

Sure throw in the new Cherokee and wagoneer, etc it’s an entirely different story, but I don’t think anyone else confused my point.

Some people just like to argue though… ?

The look has remained classic for sure, but no discernable difference? The article was BRAND reliability, so your point was inaccurate anyway based on the half a dozen other models produced by Jeep that aren't wranglers. If you think they should have all the bugs and issues worked out because they've been building "the same vehicle" since the 40's you don't understand how wildly different the JL is from the tj let alone going all the way back to the flatties. They still have 4 tires and the grill looks sort of similar and that's about it. I'd bet most Jeep people missed your point because it doesn't make any sense. Under that logic Ford should be at the top of the list as the f150 is their best seller and they've been working the kinks out since the model T. 40 more years of perfecting trucks they should be flawless right?

 

[Marmaduke]

The look has remained classic for sure, but no discernable difference? The article was BRAND reliability, so your point was inaccurate anyway based on the half a dozen other models produced by Jeep that aren't wranglers. If you think they should have all the bugs and issues worked out because they've been building "the same vehicle" since the 40's you don't understand how wildly different the JL is from the tj let alone going all the way back to the flatties. They still have 4 tires and the grill looks sort of similar and that's about it. I'd bet most Jeep people missed your point because it doesn't make any sense. Under that logic Ford should be at the top of the list as the f150 is their best seller and they've been working the kinks out since the model T. 40 more years of perfecting trucks they should be flawless right?

How many body on frame, solid front axle, four wheel drive vehicles still exist? (Almost) Everyone else has moved onto IFS, AWD (I realize these vehicles are offered with that as an option), and unibody construction. For the “wrangler” models at least, the base formula is about as pure as it gets anymore for the American market. Keep splitting hairs for internet points there champ.

 

[Zachanadandy]

How many body on frame, solid front axle, four wheel drive vehicles still exist? (Almost) Everyone else has moved onto IFS, AWD (I realize these vehicles are offered with that as an option), and unibody construction. For the “wrangler” models at least, the base formula is about as pure as it gets anymore for the American market. Keep splitting hairs for internet points there champ.

Even the axles themselves were redesigned for the JL. I'm not sure you could even find a bolt shared between the original Jeeps and the JL (they are all metric now). So it's the body on frame and solid axle that makes it reliable as that's the base formula? I don't get the reasoning in the slightest. I'm pretty sure every Ford owner ever wishes it was just the ifs and stamped chassis they had to worry about failing.

Sponsored